A series of well-publicized school shooting in Colorado, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oregon caused schools and school districts to take measures to prevent school violence and shootings.
These preventive measures included posting armed security officers in schools; using metal detectors and surveillance cameras, conducting searches for weapons in schools; tightening access to campuses and improving screening for school visitors; locking most school entrances during the school day; installing a hot line and tip box for reporting incidents that might lead to violence; expelling students who bring a gun to school; requiring school uniforms; making it harder to conceal a weapon by requiring transparent book bags and forbidding baggy clothing.
In addition, teachers and principals were trained on responding to armed intruders and on conducting lockdowns -- what teachers and students should do when there is an intruder and the police are on their way.
The fatal shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., where two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher and then committed suicide, resulted in efforts to identify and assist "red-flag" children before they commit dangerous acts.
The killers in the Columbine incident were isolated and picked on by other students.
Some measures were taken to deter violence by emphasizing the climate at a school rather than its physical security measures.
Theses included fostering an environment where violent behavior is not tolerated; teaching students social skills as anger management; introducing conflict-resolution programs; and building partnerships between schools, law enforcement, social services, parents, and the community.
